Every year on the last Sunday in September, the Great Race is run by about 10,000+ runners. It’s a 10K and 5K that started in 1977 as a community fun run as established by former Pittsburgh Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri. I’ve run the 10K almost every year since I started running in 2011. The only one I missed was in 2013 when I was training for my first full marathon in Ohio. It was my first 20 miler ever and I didn’t want to miss it or run the Great Race then 14 miles by myself afterward.
A couple years ago, I surprised myself by running the Great Race really fast, finishing in 48:30. This got me a seeded position for the 2019 race. That meant I got to go to the beginning of the pack at the start line and access to the port-a-johns with short lines. I was pumped when I found this out and registered as soon as I could. I trained my dupa off to beat my time and I was going for a 7:30 per mile pace. While I didn’t quite hit that last year, I did run in a bit faster, coming into the finish line at 48:10 in 2019. It was hot and humid that day and the Boulevard of the Allies got me again. If you’re not familiar with the Boulevard of the Allies, it’s a long hill, not too steep, but very long. I actually have a play list on my on phone with songs that I zone out to, to run up it.
Again, I got a seed position for the 2020 race with my 2019 time. And again, I was super pumped about it. I registered in January and planned to train even harder to get my 7:30 pace. And then, as we all know, this damn virus started, and the Great Race was cancelled. I was bummed about it, but kinda knew it was coming. They let you do a virtual run or get your money back. I keep getting my money back. I have too many race shirts as it is, I don’t need anymore for virtual runs, especially since I’m going to run it anyway.
For my Sunday long run on September 27, 2020, I planned on running 9 miles for training for the solo half marathon I plan to run the first weekend in November. Check back to my blog for that story mid-November. I thought I would make it fun and set my watch and Runkeeper to a 10K distance and run the Great Race by myself. It was the perfect running temperature, 54 degrees and the sun was barely up over the horizon. I went to the local
park where I run a lot and started by taking a picture of me at the “starting line” and then of the “starting line” which was just the empty parking lot. I ran out of the park and through a neighborhood first. I kept thinking, man, I wished we had this weather last year. While I was running through the neighborhood, I stopped to take a photo of a funny yard sign, which is fun because there are usually a bunch funny signs spectators are holding. I headed back to the park and was at 4 miles, only 2 more to go.
As I was running, I was thinking, which I usually do. As my father-in-law always says, the wheels are always turning. When I get to the end of the park, that will be the finish line. Humm, they always have news video cameras at the finish line, recording everyone crossing it. I have a video camera on my phone. After I actually finished the 10K and took the screen shots of my time and route, I set up my phone on the side of trail. I put it on video, snuck away from it so you wouldn’t see me, then ran toward it with my arms up, like I was crossing the finish line.
After my video, I had to finish up 3 more miles, so away I went. On my way back to the car, I thought, I’m hungry I could go for a bagel. They always have Panera bagels at the finish lines of races. But wait, they usually give out Smiley cookies from Eat n’ Park at the
Pittsburgh races. There’s an Eat ‘n Park close by, I think I’ll go get a Smiley cookie. I got back to my car, stretched a bit, hopped in the car and off I went to Eat n’ Park. I ordered 1 Smiley cookie and a cup of coffee to go. I almost sat on the curb in the parking lot because I usually sit on a curb after a race and eat something.
While I was really bummed that I couldn’t run the Great Race this year, doing my own 10K was fun. I didn’t plan any of this, I just made it up as I went and it turned out to be really fun. It had most of the parts of a race, start line, finish line, funny signs, and sugary treats at the end! Hopefully we’ll get back to racing soon. But for now, I’m going to keep training for my solo 13.1 in November.
If you want another running in a pandemic story, check this one out.
Thanks for reading this segment of my “This Damn Virus” story. Catch up on past segments here and come back next Wednesday for the next one! Sign up to receive a weekly reminder email about this blog here.
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